HOUSTON — Jefco Development Corp. and Crestwood Realty Group have announced a spring 2014 groundbreaking for the 600,000-square-foot, $100 million Kingwood Parc City Center in northeast Houston. The mixed-use development will include 300,000 square feet of retail space, 250,000 square feet of office space and 300 apartments. Kingwood, a master-planned community of 65,000 residents, currently contains mostly grocery-anchored shopping centers and small strip malls.
Texas
DALLAS — Berkeley Point Capital has provided Baron Properties with $12.5 million in acquisition financing for the purchase of the Maple Gardens apartment community in Dallas. The acquisition of the 120-unit Class A property is part of Baron’s expansion into the multifamily market of Texas, where the firm has an existing industrial portfolio. The loan, structured under the Fannie Mae DUS program, has a 10-year term with two years of interest-only payments at a fixed rate of 4.33 percent and a 30-year amortization schedule. Jeff Riggs and Scott Fisher of Baron partnered with the American National Insurance Co. on the deal.
PLANO, TEXAS — Founders Properties has purchased the Eltek North American Headquarters building, a 124,042-square-foot Class A build-to-suit warehouse close to U.S. Highway 75 and President George Bush Turnpike in Plano. CBRE represented the seller, Argent Property Co., and worked on behalf of the buyer to secure a permanent loan through EverBank. The property, completed in December 2012, is 100 percent leased and located in Plano’s Research and Technology District.
SAN ANTONIO — United Commercial Realty (UCR) has brokered the sale of Camelot Plaza in San Antonio. The retail property, located on the southwest corner of Walzem Road and FM 1976, totals 79,161 square feet and includes two spaces with potential drive-thru capability. UCR’s Craig Garansuay represented the seller in the transaction.
HOUSTON — Skanska has been awarded the $24.5 million contract for the construction of a new student recreation center on the main campus of Prairie View A&M University. The two-story, 91,500-square-foot facility will feature an elevated running track, three basketball courts, a remodeled swimming pool and several multipurpose fitness areas. Moody-Nolan will serve as architect for the project, which is expected to be completed in late 2014 and open for the semester starting in January 2015. Prairie View A&M is a public, four-year institution located 40 miles northwest of Houston.
DALLAS — Work is set to begin on Kroenke Holdings’ Preston Hollow Village, a new mixed-use development that will fill part of the 42-acre vacant lot at Walnut Hill and North Central Expressway in the North Dallas neighborhood. The first phase of the project includes a 14,000-square-foot Trader Joe’s, plus an additional 61,000 square feet of retail space and 46,000 square feet of office space. Kroenke, which acquired the lot in 2010, is partnering with Provident Realty Advisors Inc.
HOUSTON — A new anchor store, The Fresh Market, has opened at Lantern Lane shopping center, located at 12500 Memorial Drive in Houston’s affluent Memorial neighborhood. The specialty grocer replaces former anchor Rice Epicurean, also a specialty grocery store. The center, which totals 79,501 square feet and is 100 percent leased, is owned by AmREIT Monthly Income & Growth Fund III Ltd., an advised fund of AmREIT Inc.
DALLAS — A fund managed by Dallas-based Lone Star Funds has acquired 11 properties in Raleigh and Morrisville, N.C. for $45 million. The assets include 154,581 square feet of flex office space at Raleigh’s Spring Forest Business Center and 478,356 square feet at Morrisville’s Eastridge at Perimeter Park. Seller U.S. Bank purchased the properties at auction in January for $49 million.
As Houston As Houston continues to create jobs and power the economic engine of Texas, every segment of the multifamily sector continues to push higher. With more than 100,000 jobs added in the past year alone, the newly hired and the job-hungry are leasing up available space in Houston faster than units are being delivered to the market. Demographics demonstrate a growing shift toward rentals for the city in general. For the first time since 2005, Houston apartment occupancy is averaging more than 90 percent. As the energy, medical, service and construction industries continue to expand in Houston, demand will remain strong across the board for Class A, B and C product. New multifamily construction is heavily concentrated within the Inner Loop, Energy Corridor and the vicinity of The Woodlands. The development pipeline trends toward these job-ready markets as Houstonians dream of shorter work commutes and “live, work and play” scenarios. Multifamily options inch toward this dream, providing retail, dining and entertainment options on property or nearby. But living the dream does not come cheap. While convenience is desirable, these benefits can be packaged at a steep price. Houstonians, however, are more than willing to pay premium prices for premium …
BRYAN, TEXAS — SenQuest Senior Living has purchased Waldenbrooke Estates, a 180-unit independent senior living apartment property totaling approximately 164,150 square feet in Bryan. Waldenbrooke, which offers both one- and two-bedroom units in four three-story buildings, has undergone nearly $260,000 in capital improvements since 2011. The complex is located at 2410 Memorial Drive. SenQuest is the senior housing division of Los Angeles-based Titan Real Estate Investment Group Inc.